Meet Queue: Ruth Negga Is Breaking Through in a Big Way

If you’ve been watching AMC’s Preacher (and you should! it’s fun and weird!), you’ve certainly been impressed by hellcat girl Friday Tulip O’Hare, played with a scrappy twinkle by actress Ruth Negga.

An Irish-Ethiopian actress who’s been working in the UK and Ireland since 2004, Negga is in the middle of a 2016 that ought to drastically increase her notoriety in America. In addition to the featured role on Preacher, Negga is featured in the big, effects-y Warcraft movie, and most promisingly, she’s the female lead in Loving from director Jeff Nichols. The film, based on the Loving v. Virginia court battle to legalize interracial relationships, played the Cannes Film Festival last month to rave reviews and a flurry of awards buzz. So, yes, Ruth Negga is looking at a possible Best Actress Oscar push come this winter.

So where might you have seen this talented woman before? Here are a few of her most notable roles:

Breakfast on Pluto (2005)

Negga’s first major feature role was as a childhood friend of Cillian Murphy’s transgender woman in the Neil Jordan film Breakfast on Pluto. Negga was promising in the role, in a movie that didn’t get as much attention as it deserved.

Misfits (2010)

Negga had a significant role in the second season of the British-teens-with-superpowers series. Negga played Nikki, a girl who received her powers of teleportation after being the recipient of a heart transplant.

World War Z (2013)

It wasn’t a major role, but Negga’s part as a WHO doctor in World War Z was part of a busy 2013 for her. This was a film that had all the building blocks of being a total flop, but it improbably turned out to be quite the effective zombie thriller.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Negga isn’t credited for her role in 12 Years a Slave, which will maybe make for a good story if and when she ends up as an Oscar nominee for Loving this year. From an uncredited role in a Best Picture winner to a possible Best Actress nomination (or maybe more). Not a bad arc.

Jimi: All Is By My Side (2013)

This Jimi Hendrix biopic — starring Outkast’s Andre Benjamin — got kind of a raw deal, as it was released with absolutely no fanfare. Though it did nab an Independent Spirit nomination for Andre Benjamin.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013)

Finally comes along an American production that really game Negga something to do. As Raina, Negga got to play villainy with some complicated layers to it. There was never anything one-dimensional about this character, and she remains the show’s most effective and watchable villains.

Preacher (2016)

The role of Tulip O’Hare gives Negga a whole lot to work with, from action scenes to comedy beats to some great banter with Dominic Cooper. Tulip is a stand-out character, and Negga definitely has the chops to live up to that billing.